A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 421 Gathering
Chongzhen 14th year, February [-]th.
At si o'clock in the morning, all the officials in Xiangyang and Wang Dou received a report from the pond. The carriage and sedan chair of the supervisor Yang Sichang had passed through Yicheng, not far from Xiangyang. Along with them were Huguang governor Song Yihe, eunuch Liu Yuanbin, Lu Jiude and others. The officials are ready to welcome.
Knowing that the supervisor had arrived, Zhang Kejian, the deputy envoy of military preparations, and the others did not dare to neglect, so they rushed to find Wang Dou to discuss the matter of welcoming him. Let's go together."
Wang Dou led the guards, the generals, Zhang Kejian led the officials in Xiangyang, as well as the gentry and celebrities in the city, etc., went to the Yingguan Pavilion ten miles west of the city to meet each other.
It was not until the hour of Yinshi in the afternoon that I saw the majestic flags and ceremonies of the official road approaching. Beside a gorgeous eight-carried sedan chair, there were all kinds of officials and staff gathered. After the eight-carried sedan chair, there were also sedan chairs of various colors and sizes. , Behind the sedan chair, there are densely packed Huguang officers and soldiers and Beijing camp soldiers.
Seeing the supervisor coming, Zhang Kejian quickly asked Le Ban to play Chuichuidai, and then everyone greeted him by the official road together.
The eight-carried sedan chair stopped, the curtains were drawn slightly, a cough came from inside, a pair of eyes looked behind the curtains to welcome everyone, especially stayed on Wang Dou for a while, and then a low voice came out.
A staff member beside the sedan chair responded, came to Wang Dou, looked at Wang Dou with strange eyes, and said, "General Wang, the cabinet has an invitation."
Wang Dou was a little strange, he confessed his guilt to Zhang Kejian and others in a low voice, met the attention of everyone, and came to the big sedan chair of the supervisor Yang Sichang, and a tired voice came from inside: "Guoqin, get on the sedan chair."
Wang Dou was taken aback for a moment, answered yes, and then got on the sedan chair, leaving a surprised look on the outside.All the officials and staff members exchanged glances and whispered, saying that the Ministry of the Ministry valued Wang Dou, as expected, and now, with the great achievements of saving the vassal king and beheading the thief, I am afraid that he will flourish from now on.
Wang Dou got into the big sedan chair, and there was only Yang Sichang in it. Seeing Yang Sichang again, Wang Dou couldn't help being surprised.
In Wang Dou's impression, Yang Sichang had a black beard, bright eyes, and a shrewd and majestic appearance, but now he looked pale, extremely haggard, and kept coughing a few times, as if he was seriously ill. Is there any glory in the past?
Wang Dou said: "Gebu, what are you?"
Yang Sichang waved his hand and sighed, "I'm fine, Guoqin, thank you for your hard work."
The guard of honor continued to move forward, and Yang Sichang couldn't help looking at the scenery outside the sedan chair. He didn't know what he was thinking in his expression. After a long time, he bowed his head and said: "Yanmei is going to build Gancheng now, and the general will be majestic at Xiliu Camp. After sweeping away the Kou atmosphere, he will be at peace. Repayment of education and livelihood of the people."
But it was Yang Sichang's visiting supervisor, a poem inscribed by Emperor Chongzhen himself.
After he finished reciting this poem, he murmured in a low voice, his voice was inaudible and full of sadness: "Your Majesty, I am deeply gracious, and I am afraid that I will not be able to repay you in the future..."
Seeing his desolate expression, Wang Dou felt complicated and couldn't help sighing.
……
Since the military camps in Xiangyang City were occupied by the Shunxiang Army and the city defenders, the officers and men from Huguang and the Beijing Camp who followed them temporarily stationed in the military camps or temples in the surrounding suburbs.
Yang Sichang, governor of Huguang Song Yihe, eunuch Liu Yuanbin, Lu Jiude and others, as well as the generals and their personal staff all entered Xiangyang City, and everyone was eager to see Zhang Xianzhong's body.
The weather is still cold now, and Zhang Kejian, the deputy envoy of military preparations, attaches great importance to this matter. He dispatched the best forensics in the city to embalm Zhang Xianzhong's body with mercury and arsenic. His body has been properly preserved and intact.
In Xiangyang City, the original governor, Xingyuan, all the officials and generals entered the White Tiger Hall of Xingyuan according to their grades, left and right, and waited for the result.
While waiting, Wang Dou also looked at everyone in the White Tiger Hall.
Yang Sichang sits in the upper seat, the left and right aides stand in silence, and the one on the lower left sits Wanji, the supervisor of the army.Although his official position is small, he only judges affairs for the right of Dali, but he is highly regarded by Yang Sichang, and he is in front of the discipline army, so he is qualified to sit in the first place. He pays great attention to Wang Dou, and looks at it from time to time.
Next to Wanji are the eunuchs Liu Yuanbin and Lu Jiude, both wearing three mountain caps and boa robes.Liu Yuanbin was a little thinner, with a gloomy expression, while Lu Jiude was fatter, sitting on his seat like a Maitreya Buddha.
Below that is Huguang governor Song Yihe, who looks upright and awe-inspiring, wearing a red official uniform, black gauze on his head, and a jade belt around his waist.
Different from the appearance, Song Yihe has a bad reputation in the officialdom, because when he first met his supervisor Yang Sichang, in order to avoid the taboo of Yang Sichang's father's name, he wrote "Song Yiniao" on his name post, which became a joke in the officialdom.
But Wang Dou knew that this person was not simple, what he did to Yang Sichang was just a kind of officialdom wisdom, and he was still capable.Historically, when Song Yihe guarded Huguang, he first defeated Luo Rucai's five battalions in Fengyiping. After Zhang Xianzhong captured Xiangyang, Song Yihe moved to Qizhou and burned all boats to prevent Zhang Xianzhong from meeting with Ge Liyan and others. The thieves dare not cross.Later, when Li Zicheng conquered Chengtian Mansion, Song Yihe went down to the city to fight in the streets, and killed several thieves with his blade.
He paid the same attention to Wang Dou, stroking his beard and meditating from time to time.
At the military attache on the lower right, there are the former Shaanxi General Soldier and now the President of the Suppressing Thieves, Zhang Yingyuan, the Deputy General Soldier of Huguang, the Vice President of the Suppression of Thieves, Sun Yingyuan, Huang Degong, the Deputy Chief Soldier of the Beijing Camp, Zhou Yuji, and others. fight.
The few above are either the commander-in-chief or the deputy commander-in-chief.
They also looked at Wang Dou again and again. Although there was no expression on their faces, they were obviously not so calm in their hearts, especially Zhang Yingyuan, the deputy commander of Huguang, who was quite depressed.
In the battle of Huangling City, Liu Shijie, Wang Zhifeng, guerrilla Guo Kai and others died in the battle, and he himself was shot by Liu Ya, and his injuries are still not complete. Killed, such good luck, think about yourself, how can you not be angry?
At this time, no one was in the mood to speak, and the hall was silent.
Soon, there was a commotion outside the second gate, and soon, Zhang Kejian, the deputy military commander of Xiangyang, led several soldiers, and hurried in carrying Zhang Xianzhong's coffin.
There was a bang in the White Tiger Hall, and everyone stood up, especially Yang Sichang staggered a few steps, walked down from the main seat, looked at the corpse in Zhang Xianzhong's coffin on the ground, and said tremblingly: "It's a thief, it's a thief, haha, It is indeed a thief..."
Yang Sichang lost his composure, he stroked the coffin with trembling hands, looked at Zhang Xianzhong's body inside, and suddenly the past came to his mind one after another: the kindness of the Holy One, the disadvantage of suppressing bandits, the attack of officials, the fiasco like a tiger, he tried his best The helplessness of... Scenes continue to pass by.
At one moment he was extremely happy, at another moment he was sad, and at another moment he felt grievances. With a myriad of thoughts, he couldn't help bursting into tears. He staggered to the north and fell to his knees, choking up and shouting: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Suppressing the thief is as good as it is, offering to punish the thief!" , minister... die without regret..."
He knelt on the ground and wept uncontrollably, and all the staff around him were crying.Fierce as a tiger burst into tears, beat his chest hard, and cried, "Jie'er, Zhong'er, have you seen it? The thief is dead, and you have avenged yourself."
There was a lot of crying in the hall...
……
Wang Dou walked out of the White Tiger Hall, heaving a long sigh. Xie Yike, Gao Shiyin, Wen Fangliang and others who were waiting outside the second gate gathered together. Crying together? And all of them are high-ranking officials."
Gao Shiyin snorted: "They were dragged around by the thief, and now that the thief is really dead, of course they will cry bitterly. This is called crying with joy, tears of joy."
Wang Dou coughed, and everyone immediately stopped talking, and they all glanced at the generals of the Beijing camp outside the second gate, and the generals of Huguang.
At this time, there were many generals gathered in Xiangyang, but only a few of them could enter the White Tiger Hall to discuss matters, and the rest had to wait outside the second gate and be summoned by the Shangguan before entering the hall.
Among these people, there are many guerrillas and participating generals, such as Ma Wenzhi under Sun Yingyuan, Ma Zhi under Meng Ruhu, and Lin Baoguo under Zhou Yuji. Outside the door, Wang Dou was seen sitting on an equal footing with all the commanders-in-chief, and they were even given seats.
At this time, they all looked at Wang Dou with complicated eyes. They traveled thousands of miles from Huguang to Sichuan, lost troops and lost generals, but in the end the biggest benefit was captured by Wang Dou. Luoyang saved King Fu and made an indelible contribution, which is really more popular than others.
Wen Fangliang said in a low voice: "General, what should we do next?"
Wang Dou's expression was deep: "Let's wait for the imperial decree first. According to my estimation, we won't stay in Xiangyang for long, and we will go home soon."
Confirming the death of the thief, everyone in Baihutang was excited. Although Yang Sichang was seriously ill, he still supported his body and praised Wang Dou. , Huoshan's Zuoge thieves.
At this time, the thief offering was dead, the trespasser was defeated, and the rest of the thieves became panic-stricken dogs, and they could be wiped out with the palm of their hands. It can be seen that everyone in the hall is excited.
Yang Sichang ordered the whole city to rejoice and reward the three armies. Due to his poor health, he only said that General Ping Zei and He Renlong had arrived in Xiangyang to discuss matters again, so everyone left and let Yang Ge's troops rest.
Wang Dou reckoned that he had nothing to do in the next battle. Everyone saw that it was cheap, and they were all waiting for the credit, but his credit was too great, so he ate most of the meat and asked others to drink some soup.Anyway, the strategic goal has been achieved, and you can go home.
Yes, go home. It’s been almost half a year since I left for the expedition in October last year. It’s time to go back.
Before going into battle, Wang Dou had made a strategy, probed the bandit's reality, and observed his tactics. Now he understands the root cause of the bandit's tactics that once swept the world.They have indeed dealt a heavy blow to the arrogance of the ruling class, just as the history books say, but what happens after the heavy blow?
……
Hearing that they were going home, Xie Yike and the others became excited. After being out for a long time, everyone really felt homesick.
Now I just wait for the imperial decree of the reward, and then I will go back to the court. Everyone believes in what Wang Dou said. The general said that he can go home soon, so he can go home soon.
When all the people went out of the gate, there were horses, carriages and sedan chairs outside, as well as the personal guards of various officials.
While discussing where to celebrate, Wang Dou suddenly heard someone behind him say: "General Wang, please stay."

(End of this chapter)